For Martin, that was the fairly obvious answer to a fairly obvious question. The departure of point guard Denis Clemente means Pullen will become Kansas State's primary ballhandler next year, assuming he returns for his senior season.

"Jacob has to take that lead on his own," Martin said, speaking Tuesday at his season-ending news conference. "He's had Denis to help him all the time. Now he's got to take that on his own."

Pullen averaged 19.3 points in a breakout junior season, and he teamed with Clemente to form one of the nation's most productive backcourts.

Pullen played primarily at shooting guard, though Martin considers the whole notion a bit antiquated.

"We played with two point guards all year," Martin said. "I'm not a 1947 basketball coach, where the point guard plays here and the 2-guard plays here. I like playing with two point guards. I've said that from Day 1."

Pullen clearly factors prominently in K-State's plans for next season, which doesn't mean Martin would discourage him — or anyone else, for that matter — from testing the NBA waters.

League rules allow underclassmen to go through the pre-draft process and solicit feedback from NBA teams before making a final decision.

"There is a path that's followed through the NBA to give these kids and their families the best NBA opinion," Martin said. "We're going to follow those paths. The ones that want to follow it, I'm not going to fight them on it."

The deadline for underclassmen to declare is April 25, and they have until May 8 to withdraw with eligibility intact. Pullen may have registered on NBA radars with his performance in the NCAA Tournament, though most projections list him as a second-round pick at best.

Martin said he hasn't discussed the draft with Pullen, but he didn't discount the junior guard's pro potential.

"If you're top 10 in the country and you make the run that we made, beat the teams that we beat, I've got to think someone on your team is worthy of playing in the NBA," Martin said. "It's hard to do that without one guy on your team who's pretty good.

"If the decision, once all the proper steps are taken, is that he wants to pursue that, it's going to be because there's a real sense from the NBA that he is a viable person for somebody in that league. That's a choice he's got to make with his family."

This discussion stems from Pullen's remarkable junior season, which saw him tie a single-season school record with 110 3-pointers and climb to No. 7 on K-State's all-time scoring list.

Still, Martin said, there is room for Pullen to improve as a senior.

"He's got to become a better decision maker," Martin said. "He's a little inconsistent with his decision-making with the basketball in his hands. He made great decisions at times, and then he made poor decisions. You have to have a better balance there."

Assuming Pullen returns, Martin's primary challenge will be finding another ballhandler in the backcourt. The leading candidates appear to be freshmen Martavious Irving and Nick Russell, along with incoming recruit Will Spradling.

The two freshmen face opposite challenges, Martin said.

"Nick's got to get stronger," Martin said. "He's got to become a better defensive player. Those were his two weaknesses that prevented him from finding more success ...

"Martavious has to become better with the basketball in his hands. He's inconsistent with his shooting. He's got to become a more consistent shooter. He brings a toughness factor, and he was the most prepared defensive kid of all our freshman guards. Now he's got to become a better offensive player."

K-State has multiple options in the backcourt, which means Martin isn't necessarily targeting a point guard with K-State's final scholarship. K-State likely will sign one player in the spring, though Martin didn't rule out holding the scholarship for next season.

"We've got to get the best fit for our team," he said. "We've got three or four guys that are interested in us, and we're interested in them. I'm more concerned with getting the right fit for our basketball team than with (signing) a player of a certain talent."

However K-State chooses to replace Clemente, the Wildcats must account for more than his 16 points, four assists and blazing end-to-end speed.

"People don't understand," Martin said. "People always want to judge everything based on points and assists. The biggest thing people have is a will. Denis had a will that was second to none, a work ethic that was second to none."

Fortunately, K-State has a capable replacement.

"Denis came in here and he instilled his will on Jacob Pullen," Martin said.

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"People don't understand," Martin said. "People always want to judge everything based on points and assists. The biggest thing people have is a will. Denis had a will that was second to none, a work ethic that was second to none."

There is the title of the KSU mens sports Media guide. Snyder always talks about a players intangables and now Martin is talking aobut Will being the "more" of a player. More sports stories come from these elements than anywhere. Rudy, Rocky, etc.
The modern day deamons of sports are those who have done what they can just for numbers. Reccords not withstanding. I say let the "clean" and "clear" reccord holders keep their reccord but make sure the will and intangible stories are made into legend.